Lawmakers continue hearings on IRS scandal

Ahead of a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Tuesday, the top Democrat and Republican on the panel are demanding to know the names of all IRS workers in Cincinnati who were aware that conservative groupsMore >>

Ahead of a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Tuesday, the top Democrat and Republican on the panel are demanding to know the names of all IRS workers in Cincinnati who were aware that conservative groups were getting extra scrutiny, FOX19 has learned.More >>

The Cincinnati Tea Party announced that it will protest the IRS on Tuesday over the targeting of liberty groups regarding their tax status. The protest will begin at Fountain Square at noon on TuesdayMore >>

The Cincinnati Tea Party protested the IRS on Tuesday over the targeting of liberty groups regarding their tax status.More >>

Bonnie Esrig worked for the IRS for 38 years, many of which were spent in the Cincinnati field office. She retired in January 2013 as an Area Manager in Exempt Organizations Determinations. Esrig saysMore >>

Bonnie Esrig worked for the IRS for 38 years, many of which were spent in the Cincinnati field office.More >>

FOX19 spoke with IRS workers outside the Cincinnati offices on Monday. While employees were hesitant to talk about the IRS making headlines for targeting conservative groups, many were quick to chat aboutMore >>

FOX19 spoke with IRS workers outside their Cincinnati offices on Monday. While employees were hesitant to discuss the IRS making headlines for targeting conservative groups, many were quick to chat about the first of five furloughs coming up on Friday.More >>

"Form where I sit as a former IRS commissioner, if Congress could help clarify the law, that would be very helpful for me," Douglas Shulman testified.

Despite the complex codes governing non-profits, legislators agree there is no excuse for singling out groups based on names or ideology.

"Was there no ongoing oversight of the employees in Cincinnati and what they were doing?" questioned Senator Debbie Stabenow.

"I agree that this is an issue that when someone spotted it they should have run up the chain and they didn't," former IRS commissioner Douglas Shulman responded. "Why they didn't I don't know."

The be-on-the-lookout or "BOLO" list that specifically targeted Tea Party and patriot groups remained the center of the controversy during Tuesday's hearing.

"I don't want to understate concerns with the list because we should not have done that, we simply should not have done that," former acting IRS commissioner Steven Miller admitted.

Miller testified that when he found out about the BOLO list he transferred and reassigned an employee involved in the letters and asked the person he believed was responsible get oral counseling.

The Inspector General for Tax administration J. Russell George says IRS workers in Cincinnati did try to get clarification from their headquarters unit in Washington D.C., but says it took almost a year before they got a response on how to handle some of the controversial cases.